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Torn
|image = }} Torn is a story in the Hidden in Deepest Shadows storyline written by Lalajujunini and is one of the stories in the Keys series. The story recounts Sarhab’s near-death experience with the Makuta Dahfk, and his ensuing rescue by the Av-Matoran Mivu. Story Sarhab interrupted, laughing. “I am sorry to tell you this, my little friend, but no Makuta could ever find me.” However, the Matoran was adamant, “No, you must listen to me! I heard this from a reliable source, and for no small price. You are in great danger. I don’t know how, but the Makuta have found you.” “Listen,” Sarhab grinned and tossed the blue and green Matoran a handful of widgets, “No one knows better than a Toa of Iron how ruthless the Makuta are. They destroyed my village, for Mata-Nui’s sake. But whoever gave you this information has to be wrong. I’ve been too careful. And don’t forget that I’m the one paying you, so whatever I do with this information is my business, not yours. Next time, be more careful about who you get your information from.” With that, he turned and walked back out of the alley. If you wanted good information for a good price, Stelt was the place to go. As soon as he was out of sight from the Matoran, he activated his mask. The air around him flickered, then flashed up into his usual disguise, a Toa of Stone. As he entered a busy marketplace, he lost himself in thought, and his grin dissolved into a frown. The Matoran had been Jaxys, a Steltian Bo-Matoran, and one of the most reliable informants on the island, and one of the most expensive. Sarhab knew that what Jaxys said must be true, but anyone could be an informant for the Makuta. If he gave any hint that he might be leaving, then they would attack before he could leave. This way, he might be able to get off the island before they realized what he was doing. So far, he had managed to avoid discovery by staying quiet and staying hidden. His Mahiki made this a little easier. Seeing a Toa around here wasn’t that unusual, especially Toa of Stone, because their strength made them good mercenaries. By hiding in plain sight, but not drawing too much attention to himself, he could pass through large crowds relatively unnoticed. He stepped behind a row of ramshackle huts, and broke into a run. As he ran, he looked up into the gray sky, and considered his course of action. If he tried to wait, then he might be fine. Maybe Jaxys had gotten bad information. But if Jaxys was right, and the Makuta knew where he was, then staying could be fatal. Then again, if he tried to leave right now, any attempt to leave could be monitored. Maybe showing his hand would be the opposite of what he needed to do. He didn’t know how they were tracking him, if they knew his cover name and followed his actions, or if they could recognize him on the spot. If he caused a scene trying to get onto a boat, which wasn’t too unusual, it might blend in, or it might spell disaster. He heard ahead a scraping noise, probably some poor Steltian Matoran dragging a broken air-cart of cargo to its next transport. He ducked between a pair of huts, then slowed his pace and rejoined the crowd. He headed towards a nearby dock, and walked onto the boat as if he belonged. He stepped below deck, ducking his head under the low ceiling, and looked around. It was a large ship, but old, and not in the best condition. Still, it would float, and that was all a boat needed in Stelt. He grabbed one of the Matoran bustling by, spun him around by the shoulder, and lifted him into the air. He looked official, and had in his hand a list of cargo to be packed. The Matoran glanced down at the ground, and was surprised to note that his feet were no longer touching the ground. He timidly looked up at his captor, avoiding looking Sarhab in the eyes. “Umm… can I help you sir?” He whimpered. Sarhab shook him, “What’s your name?” “Uh… Wemmip. I’m the Head Cargo Officer on this vessel.” “Can you point me towards the Captain’s quarters, Wemmip?” “Yes sir. Just that way, third hallway on the left, and then fifth door on the right.” Sarhab dropped him to the ground with a loud smack. “Thanks, Wemmip.” Leaving Wemmip to pick up his list, he walked off in the direction the Cargo Officer had indicated. He found the door, and instead of knocking, kicked it straight off its hinges. He had to make an impression, right? It flew across the room and landed across the Captain’s desk, which was instantly reduced to splinters. It was a small room, at least it was to a Toa, but still larger than most of the crew’s quarters, and those could hold almost twenty Matoran at once. On the walls were carvings of what Sarhab assumed were the Captain’s close friends. The Captain was a large, well-muscled Ta-Matoran. The Captain stood up, briefly glancing at his ruined desk. ”I don’t want any trouble here, Toa.” The smile on Sarhab's Miru widened even farther. "Why would I ever be trouble?" he laughed sarcastically. The Captain rubbed his leg. "Why do you think?" Sarhab frowned, “If you're insinuating that I shouldn’t have broken your desk, that’s your fault for using a cheap desk. Or cheap hinges, come to think of it.” “No, I just want you to not break any more desks. What do you want?” “I need to get to the Southern Continent, and I thought that I might just take this boat.” “What do I get?” “Well, for starters, I don’t smash your ship.” The Matoran reached over and pulled a weapon from its mounting on the wall. “This is a Vacuum Shield. It’s fully charged. I could blow us all to Karzhani before you could say Lava Eel.” A Vacuum Shield was a weapon that could create a powerful vacuum and implode its surroundings, and then release this later in an explosive blast, like the Captain was threatening to do. “You wouldn’t blow a hole in your ship would you? I’d be finished, but so would you and your ship, along with most of the crew. How about you just put that down and we talk like civilized people?” “Why should I? I’m the one with the weapon.” Sarhab pulled a modified Kanoka Disk launcher off his back. “Well, sort of. And, I can blow a hole in you before you can blow a hole in your ship.” The Captain set the Shield down in the remains of his desk. Adjusting his Jutlin, he grimaced, “Like I said before, what do you want?” “Safe passage. Free passage. Comfortable passage. In fact, I think this room will do quite nicely." Sarhab liked around at the bed in the corner and the remains of the desk on the floor. "So shoo! This is my room now! Why are you in my room? Get out before I make you!” Sarhab waved his launcher in the air and prodded the Captain with his foot as the Matoran gathered up his belonging. When he finally left Sarhab picked up the door and placed it back in the doorframe. Standing outside his room, the Captain thought that it was all quite sudden. A few minutes ago, this stranger had burst in to his room, and now he, the Captain of this ship, was standing in the hallway, holding a few carvings of friends and a cracked leg from his desk. Behind him, the Toa of Stone was nailing the hinges back onto the doorframe. The Captain wandered down the hallway in a daze. Where does Wemmip sleep? He’s got a pretty big room, maybe we can share? As Sarhab sat on the tiny bed in the corner of his room, he began to think that he might have done it. His move might have been sudden enough to avoid detection by the Makuta. After barricading the door, he deactivated his Mahiki. When he was a Matoran, he had thought his mask was a Kakama. When he became a Toa, despite all his attempts to run fast, he eventually discovered his true Mask Power: Illusion. Now he masqueraded as a Toa of Stone in a black Miru. Even the Kanoka disc launcher was an illusion. All he had was a pair of Barbed Broadswords. Honestly, they were only for hand-to-hand combat because Iron wasn't much good in a fight. Or at least, if he was going to leave his opponent alive. Sarhab was in truth a very small, weak looking Toa, with very little armor. He could have, if he had wanted, modified his armor to be larger and better protected, but he always try to keep his elemental powers full in case he had to fight. He wished he had never become a Toa. Khrodak should have picked someone else. He was a Toa, great and strong, devoted to protecting the weak and powerless, but right now, all he could do was run. ---- Sarhab was woken one morning a few days after their departure by the clanging of the ship's bell. They had arrived at Zilan, a small port on the south side of the southern continent. As he picked up his Barbed Broadswords and reactivated his mask, there was a knock on the door. "Hello?" He heard a creak outside the door, but no one answered. "Is anyone out there?" This time he heard a sound like an energy weapon charging. He knew what was going on in an instant. He ran to the porthole on the other side of the room and used his Barbed Broadswords to smash the hinges off. He widened the whole quickly, ripping chunks out around it, and squeezed through. And not a moment too soon. As soon as he fell into the freezing water below, a red blast of shadow energy decimated the side of the ship. Had he not gotten out in time, he would have been vaporized. As the cold, dark water lapped around him, Sarhab realized what this meant. Someone knew who he was, where he was, and was trying to kill him. Maybe it was a Dark Hunter mercenary, on a mission for the Brotherhood, maybe as an actual Makuta, but either way, he had to get out of here fast. He took a huge gasp of air and dove below the waves, swimming to shore. He came to shore a little ways away from Zilan. He climbed out of the water and sat on the rocks for moment, watching the waves lapping at the bank. Wearing it away, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly reducing to nothing. This the end. Thought Sarhab. Nothing is left for me. They have come for me and I will never escape. But I can't die, not yet. And so he ran. As fast as he could. As far as he could. But he knew he could never escape. If he stopped for a moment, and listened closely, sometimes he could hear in the distance a low, slow, leathery flapping, like Rahi wings. And he knew someone, or something, I was still following him. ---- Sarhab sat down to rest again. It was two weeks later. He couldn't run any longer. As he listened to the wings flap in the distance, he gave up hope. The end had finally come. He'd made the most he could of his life, saved some Matoran, got his mentor probably killed, and ripped a hole in a cargo ship. Pretty impressive for such a short time as a Toa. He got up. He heard the wings getting closer. Now he could hear another sound, like a giant Rahi smashing its way through anything in its path. But as he sat, hopeless, his death literally racing towards him, he thought back to Phantom. The days the two of them had spent together forging masks. Phantom had been more of a Turaga to Sarhab than Morguo back home. Phantom had taught him how to do something Sarhab truly enjoyed doing. Yes, he was stubborn. Yes, he could be more irritating than a loose mask at times. But Sarhab missed him. He was a close friend and a great mentor. For all he knew, Phantom was lost forever, sent on a suicidal mission by the Shadowed One. He remembered a day when Phantom had just finished guiding him through the creation of a theoretical mask. After they finished, Sarhab commented that he wished he could use his mask power. "Why can Toa use mask powers and elemental powers and not us? It doesn't seem fair for the Great Beings to give them more powers just because they're taller and stronger!" Phantom kneeled down and looked into Sarhab's eyes. "Sarhab, you are something special. And you have a fair point. Well, listen to me here. I think that Toa are different. They are something more.Toa have a courage, a virtue, given to them by the Great Spirit. Something truly great. The ability to fight for good, more than any ordinary, selfish Matoran could. To keep fighting. Because everything is hopeless. That's what Toa do. That's what makes them so different." Phantom had stood up and walked off. Sarhab remembered his village, the corpses and destruction. The carnage. The Makuta did that. They were monsters. The world needed Toa, no matter how weak. He couldn't give up now. He stood. The air around Sarhab shimmered. He hadn't realized his Mahiki was still active. As the mirage came down, Sarhab remembered how weak his armor really was. Now he regretted all those times he could have improved his armor and waited. Now it was to late. He didn't want to die just yet, but it seemed he had no choice. He laughed, even though it didn't sound right. He was going to fight. Because it was hopeless. Because that's what Toa do. Sarhab planted his feet. They were here. He pulled his Barbed Broadswords out and tried to focus on his elemental power, tried to prepare for whatever might happen next. A huge white creature burst through the underbrush, four arms waving, and pounded towards the Toa of Iron. Sarhab ran to find a better strategic position, hoping that such a large creature would have trouble keeping up. He sprinted away towards a small cleft between two hills, and came out into a large clearing of bare stone and gravel. The creature pounded around the bend and pulled up short, tail ready to strike. He was joined by two others. The first was tall and green. He held a staff and a giant blade, midnight black. In his chest a large orange orb glowed, wriggling shadows playing along the inside. He wore a green Kanohi Faxon and had a pair of silver wings sprouting from his back. Next to him stood a red creature, walking on four legs, with huge claws and narrow white eyes. Now that he was standing still, Sarhab could get a better look at the first creature. He stood on two legs, with clawed arms and a barbed tail. His armor was white, yellow and blue, and seemed to glow. On his face he wore a Noble Mask of Mind Control. The area they stood in was a long irregular stony plateau, surrounded by mounds of gravel, boulders, and tall, spire-like mountainous stone structures. The grey stone seemed to threaten Sarhab, like it would fall and dash him to pieces at any moment. Nothing seemed to live inside the pockmarks in the surface of the stone, there was no green undergrowth on the mountains. The three creatures stood there, watching the skies, waiting for something. Should I attack? Are they attacking me? I thought they were coming to kill me, but... Sarhab looked at the three warriors, and then looked up at the sky. What if I was wrong? With a crunch of gravel, a tall blue figure landed in front of the three. His body was hunched and misshapen, but muscular nonetheless. In one hand he held a long silver staff, the head of which was a frightening Rahi skull, coated in dark metal, the eyes set with red crystal, wings arching out from behind. Red eyes gleamed from behind a sinister, fanged mask. The Kanohi Avsa, Mask of Hunger. Huge wings sprouted from his back. The stranger stared hard at the Toa, then pointed his spear at his victim. The three warriors raced towards Sarhab, brandishing their weapons. ---- Mivu walked along, patrolling the area. No one had shown up in the area in years, so it seemed like security was redundant, but some things needed extra security. Like the core of the universe. For example. He stared at the grey sky above him, then the grey stone mountains around. Everything is so grey. Mivu frowned. The Great Beings must really like the color grey. ''Mivu wished he was back inside, back with his friends. He hated the grey. Over to the left, Mivu heard a distant pounding. "What was that? Is someone really out here?" He muttered. He slowly crept towards the sound, dashing from rock to rock, hiding between spires, and crawling through the ruts in the stone. They grew louder, and the sound of flapping joined them. Soon he neared the noises. He heard crashing and metal rending, then nothing. As he pushed his head out from behind a pile of rocks, gasped, and then ducked back down. A grey and orange Toa was on his knees, around him, the remains of three Makuta littered about him, their Antidermis floating up out of their corpses. His face was bruised and his weapons were on the ground, out of reach. Standing in front of him, was a tall blue Makuta, his grey wings spread and his sinister eyes narrowed. Lightning filled the skies and flashed as Mivu turned back to see what was happening. Lighting struck again, then again as the blue assailant ended the Toa. The lightning flew down, then through the Makuta, into the Toa in a terrifying display. Most of the Antidermis was vaporized by the Makuta, seemingly uncaring for his companions. The Makuta paused, then walked forward towards the limp body of the Toa. Near death, the body groaned, then lay still. The attacker approached, lifting his staff into the air to deal a final blow. The flapping of wings filled the air. The blue figure froze, and turned, staring in shock at the skies. Mivu looked up to see a huge Rahi with a terrifying white skull swoop down towards the blue Makuta. With a single flap of its wings, the Rahi decimated the third cloud, and picking the blue up by the shoulders, it started to carry him off. Its victim growled and blasted it with Shadow, but it seemed to have no effect. As the Makuta flew away, he shrieked, and pain forced Mivu to the ground. The mountainside shattered, exploding into shards of stone and flying down the slope to the body laying below. As the struggling Makuta was lifted away, his final blow tumbled towards Sarhab, unable to move. Mivu stood, looked at the flying figure in the distance, then ran from behind his shelter. He sprinted to the Toa, but as he rolled him over, he felt a flood of energy. He remembered, once, many ages ago, he had used his ability. Now he would have to use it again. Focusing on the edge of his vision, a hilltop in the distance, he called up his power. And vanished. He appeared on the hilltop and watched the stones tumble over the ground where he two of them had just been. He tried to pull the Toa's body, but it was too heavy. He focused, and quick-traveled again. A few minutes later, he appeared at the entrance to his village, and, gasping, collapsed next to Sarhab. As the Matoran of the village rushed out, quickly followed by the authorities, the murmurs of questions rose to a roar. The leader quieted the masses, and by their orders, two were quickly dragged inside the nearest available shelter and tended to, but the questions were still raging through the minds of the Matoran. ---- Sarhab awoke inside a tiny Matoran hut, filled with odd carvings and medical implements. He sat up, expecting to feel pain, but instead completely fine. ''Hmm. I would have thought that after almost dying... Well, they must have good healers here. Wherever I am. ''He stepped out of his bed, and, ducking out under the door, was met by shouts of joy and surprise by the villagers passing by. Some stood, asking questions, some of which he answered, a few of which he even answered truthfully. One villager ran off for a larger building Sarhab could see a while away. A few minutes later, a strong-looking Onu-Matoran arrived. "Hello, Toa. I am Kirop, I'm the head of this village." He held out his hand. Sarhab tenderly took it, but was surprised by the firm grip he received in return. Kirop smiled. "What brings you here, injured and so close to our borders?" Sarhab glanced around, then spoke. "I would be happy to tell you... in private." Kirop nodded. "I see. Follow me this way." Sarhab followed the sable figure through the ordering crowds. He saw that the village was constructed entirely on top of stalactites, imbedded into the surface of a gigantic dome. They passed along the edge of a stalactite, and crossed by bridge to another, larger one. He looked down and could see nothing but tall twisted trees and mist. The edges of the cavern were shrouded in fog. As they crossed the bridge, he noticed that they were some of the few to do so, as many of the other villagers in the settlement were flying back and forth from the many stalactite villages using silver jetpacks, strapped to their backs. As they rejoined the crowd, he began to notice how large the Matoran around him were. They walked through rows of huts and houses, and eventually arrived at the large building, and stepping inside, they closed the doors. "Now you can speak in safety, Toa." Sarhab sat at the long table spanning the length of the building. Clearly, this was some sort of meeting hall, but Kirop had probably chosen it because it was tall enough for Sarhab to stand comfortably in. The Toa spoke. "I am a Toa of Iron. My village was destroyed by the Makuta, my friends slaughtered. They fear Toa like me, because we are the only ones who could ever defeat them. I have been running ever since they destroyed my village, and they caught up to me. They sent four Makuta to kill me. They nearly did. I... I had to defend myself..." Sarhab trailed off, and Kirop frowned. The Toa clearly felt guilty, and he had already received a full explanation from Mivu. He, unlike many, understood the necessity of Sarhab's actions, and, while it was unfortunate such measures had to be taken, he thought no less of Sarhab. He eventually broke the silence. "We are Av-Matoran. If any one of us became a Toa, we would be the most deadly weapon against a Makuta there has ever been, save perhaps one. We have never, before you, accepted anyone into our lands but those sent be Mata Nui himself, for we too are in hiding." He walked to the wall, and took down the sword hung there. He ran it over with his hands, and admired the workmanship of the blade, but as he held it, it seemed to glow. He placed it back on the wall, and finished what he had been saying. "So, we understand your grief, and we understand your fear, but you will be safe as long as you remain here." Sarhab wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that discourse, but was glad the conversation had turned from him. He replied, "Thank you for saving my life, I owe a debt to all of you." "Truly, you have Mivu to thank. He was the one who found you and brought you here. If you see him, don't forget to thank him. It would mean a lot to him. He has, though, been getting a lot of attention lately. I think I might have something special in store for him this Naming Day." Sarhab smiled and stood. "I'll make sure. Actually, I'll go see him now. Where does he live?" "Just ask the villagers and they'll point you in the right direction. He has red armor, like a Ta-Matoran, and he wears a Noble Hau. That should be all you need to recognize him. That, and the throngs of fans hanging around him." Sarhab stepped closer to Kirop, and as he held his hand out to the Matoran, their eyes met. In his eyes, Sarhab could see that the being he was shaking hands with was one of the greatest he would ever meet. In his eyes Sahab saw nobility, and honesty. They were firm, the eyes of one who would do what needed to be done, whatever ended to be done, for the good of his people. Sarhab shook the hand of the leader, then stepped away. Walking through the door, closing it behind him, he entered the river of bodies flowing through the streets, laden with goods from their stalactite farms, or their workshops. ''These people have a life. They have friends. They live every day knowing it could be their last, and they are the better for it. Someday, when I am old, perhaps a Turaga, I will return and live here. With people who know no fear. A great people. If I live that long. He waded through the sea of heads bobbing by his waist, faces pointed skyward in awe. He glanced left, and saw one stopped at the door of her hut. "Which direction would I find Mivu in?" He asked. "Turn left five huts down, and then his hut will be on your right." She responded. "Are you really a Toa? Have you come to stay?" Sarhab didn't answer, just thanked her and walked in the direction she had indicated. Five huts down, he turned to the right, and after walking a ways, and not finding any identifying features on any of the huts, he turned and looked around him. On the opposite end of the path, he saw a red Matoran, followed by a few female Matoran, coming his way. She must have given me the wrong instructions, because I should have turned left. When the Matoran saw him, the girls ran away, giggling, while Mivu turned and entered his hut. Sarhab walked quickly down the street and ducked into the hut. "Mivu?" The Matoran nodded. "Thank you. Truly. You saved my life and that is something I can never repay." Sarhab, for some reason he couldn't explain, felt awkward standing here with this Matoran, who had just saved his life, not knowing him at all, and spoke quickly. Mivu smiled up at him. "It was an honor, sir. Mostly. I did feel a little ill afterwards, though. Plus I passed out." "Well, I hope you will take this as a token of my appreciation. It's special." Out of his bag he pulled a metallic object, and laid it on Mivu's table. "I hope to see you again some day." And stepping out of the hut, he walked away. ---- Mivu stepped into his hut, and after clearing away tablets and tools from his table, he sat down on a chair and set on the table his newest tablet, one word written with freshly carved letters in the stone: Miivouh. It was Naming Day and he was exhausted. After rescuing Sarhab, it hadn't come as much of a surprise to receive a new name, but the celebrations had gone long, and he was more third than he had been in ages. He groaned, then stood up. He walked around, choosing a place, then hung the tablet on the wall, and stared at the space next to it. Fixed on the wall was a copper Hau, a gift from Sarhab to him. He had never understood why Sarhab had given it to him. The Toa must have won it in a tournament as a Matoran. Since it had sentimental value, maybe he gave it to Miivouh to reward him for saving him. But it didn't seem right, that didn't sound like Sarhab. But maybe he just didn't know the warrior that well. Miivouh wondered what the Toa had meant by the words It's special. His voice just hadn't sounded right when he had said it. It wasn't only sentimental. He ran his hand over the mask, then turned around and flopped straight down into his bed. Characters * Sarhab * Vamprah * Tharil * Tonok * Rahona * Jaxys * Wemmip * Captain Sor * Phantom- flashback only * Mivu/Miivouh * Kirop * Vultraz- briefly Trivia * Torn was originally named Death: Like a Great Stone, and then Victory is Hollow before it reached its current title * Torn was the first short story written by Lalajujunini Category:Stories Category:Hidden in Deepest Shadows